The '''children of the forest''', sometimes referred to simply as the '''children''', are a mysterious non-human race that originally inhabited the continent of [[Westeros]] during the [[Dawn Age]] long before the arrival of the [[First Men]] thousands of years ago. The [[giants]] call them ''woh dak nag gram'' (little squirrel people). They call themselves ''those who sing the song of earth'' in the [[True Tongue]].{{Ref|aDwD|13}} The children have not been seen by men for hundreds of years.{{Ref|TWOIAF| Ancient History: The Long Night}}

The '''children of the forest''', sometimes referred to simply as the '''children''', are a mysterious non-human race that originally inhabited the continent of [[Westeros]] during the [[Dawn Age]] long before the arrival of the [[First Men]] thousands of years ago. The [[giants]] call them ''woh dak nag gram'' (little squirrel people). They call themselves ''those who sing the song of earth'' in the [[True Tongue]].{{Ref|aDwD|13}} The children have not been seen by men for hundreds of years.{{Ref|TWOIAF| Ancient History: The Long Night}}

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==Appearance==

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==Characteristics==

:''See also: [[:Category:Images of the Children of the Forest|Images of the Children of the Forest]]''

:''See also: [[:Category:Images of the Children of the Forest|Images of the Children of the Forest]]''

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[[File:HBO cotf hand.png|thumb|350px|Their hands had only three fingers and a thumb, with sharp black claws instead of nails.]]

The children are smaller than humans, but they are not childlike. They have nut-brown skin, dappled like a deer's with paler spots. Their hands have only three fingers and a thumb, with sharp black claws instead of nails. They have large ears that can hear things that no man can hear.{{ref|ADWD|34}} They usually have large gold and green eyes slitted like those of a cat,{{ref|ADWD|13}} allowing them to see in dark passages.{{ref|ADWD|34}}

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They usually have large gold and green eyes slitted like those of a cat,{{ref|ADWD|13}} allowing them to see in dark passages.{{ref|ADWD|34}} Children with mossy green or blood red eyes have the gift of [[greensight]] and are known as [[greenseer]]s.{{ref|ADWD|34}}

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The children are slight, quick, and graceful. They weave leaves and vines and flowers into their hair, and wear cloaks of leaves. They may live for centuries.{{ref|ADWD|13}} They often sing in their language, the [[True Tongue]].{{ref|ADWD|34}}

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Their hands have only three fingers and a thumb, with sharp black claws instead of nails.{{Ref|aDwD|34}} The children are slight, quick, and graceful.

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Very rarely, one of the children is born with mossy green or blood red eyes, a sign that they have been chosen by the [[Old Gods]]. The chosen ones are not robust, and do not live long on the earth, but they have the gift of [[greensight]] and are known as [[greenseer]]s. Once they are bound to a [[weirwood]], they live far longer than other children.{{ref|ADWD|34}}

==Culture==

==Culture==

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The children may have lived in clans.{{ref|TWOIAF| Ancient History: The Dawn Age}} They did not use metal, weave cloth, or build cities. The children lived off the land, using stone implements, wearing bark leg-bindings and shirts of woven leaves, dwelling in caves, crannogs, and hidden tree villages. Males and females both hunted side by side{{ref|AGOT|66}} as [[wood dancers]].{{ref|TWOIAF| Ancient History: The Coming of the First Men}} The children had no books, no ink, no parchment and no written language.{{Ref|aDwD|34}} They were a people with a deep connection to the land.{{Ref|aGoT|66}} The children wielded [[obsidian]] weapons and [[weirwood]] bows in battle, but also used powerful [[magic]].{{ref|TWOIAF| Ancient History: The Dawn Age}}

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The children may have lived in clans.{{ref|TWOIAF| Ancient History: The Dawn Age}} They did not use metal, weave cloth, or build cities. The children lived off the land, using stone and [[obsidian]] implements, wearing bark leg-bindings and shirts of woven leaves, dwelling in caves, crannogs, and hidden tree villages. Males and females both hunted side by side{{ref|AGOT|66}} as [[wood dancers]],{{ref|TWOIAF| Ancient History: The Coming of the First Men}} using obsidian weapons, [[weirwood]] bows, and flying snares made with grasses.{{ref|TWOIAF| Ancient History: The Dawn Age}} The children had no books, no ink, no parchment and no written language.{{Ref|aDwD|34}} They were a people with a deep connection to the land.{{Ref|aGoT|66}} The children used their weirwood hunting bows and obsidian weapons in battle, but also used powerful [[magic]].{{ref|TWOIAF| Ancient History: The Dawn Age}}

Legends say the children of the forest were gifted with supernatural powers. These included having power over the beasts of the wood, the ability to [[Skinchanger|wear an animal's skin]], the skill to create music so beautiful as to bring tears to the eyes of any who heard it, the [[greensight]] ability and the ability to speak to the dead.{{ref|acok|13}} It was the children who carved faces on weirwoods to keep watch over the woods.{{Ref|aCoK|28}} The children of the forest believed that the weirwood trees were gods, and when they died they became a part of them.{{ref|aDwD|34}} Septon [[Barth]] believed that the children could communicate from afar with [[raven]]s.{{ref|TWOIAF| Ancient History: The Dawn Age}}

Legends say the children of the forest were gifted with supernatural powers. These included having power over the beasts of the wood, the ability to [[Skinchanger|wear an animal's skin]], the skill to create music so beautiful as to bring tears to the eyes of any who heard it, the [[greensight]] ability and the ability to speak to the dead.{{ref|acok|13}} It was the children who carved faces on weirwoods to keep watch over the woods.{{Ref|aCoK|28}} The children of the forest believed that the weirwood trees were gods, and when they died they became a part of them.{{ref|aDwD|34}} Septon [[Barth]] believed that the children could communicate from afar with [[raven]]s.{{ref|TWOIAF| Ancient History: The Dawn Age}}

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It is unknown if there is a connection between the children of the forest and the [[Ifequevron]], or "woods walkers", of northern [[Essos]]; [[Vaes Leisi]] is a ruined settlement of carved trees and haunted grottoes in the [[Kingdom of the Ifequevron]].{{Ref|awoiaf}}{{ref|TWOIAF| Beyond the Free Cities: Ib}}

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It is unknown if there is a connection between the children of the forest and the [[Ifequevron]], or "woods walkers", of northern [[Essos]]. There is a ruined settlement of carved trees and haunted grottoes, called by the [[Dothraki]] [[Vaes Leisi]], in the [[Kingdom of the Ifequevron]].{{Ref|awoiaf}}{{ref|TWOIAF| Beyond the Free Cities: Ib}}

==History==

==History==

===Dawn Age===

===Dawn Age===

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[[File:Children of the Forest.jpg|thumb|350px|Child of the forest, in its natural habitat.]]

It is unknown where the children of the forest came from, nor for how long they were in their land before humans arrived. For thousands of years during the [[Dawn Age]] the children and the [[giants]] shared the landmass that later became known as [[Westeros]].{{ref|TWOIAF| Ancient History: The Dawn Age}} The two races are believed to have sometimes fought, since Maester [[Kennet]] found a giant's barrow near [[Long Lake]] with [[obsidian]] arrowheads in the ribs.{{ref|TWOIAF| Ancient History: The Dawn Age}} The children lived throughout Westeros, from the [[Summer Sea]] to the [[Land of Always Winter]].{{ref|TWOIAF| Ancient History: The Dawn Age}} They called [[Dorne]] the "Empty Land",{{ref|TWOIAF| Dorne}} however, and maesters doubt that the children lived on the [[Iron Islands]].{{ref|TWOIAF| The Iron Islands}}

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It is unknown where the children of the forest came from, nor for how long they were in their land before humans arrived. For thousands of years during the [[Dawn Age]] the children and the [[giants]] shared the landmass that later became known as [[Westeros]].{{ref|TWOIAF| Ancient History: The Dawn Age}} The two races are believed to have sometimes fought, since Maester [[Kennet (maester)|Kennet]] found a giant's barrow near [[Long Lake]] with [[obsidian]] arrowheads in the ribs.{{ref|TWOIAF| Ancient History: The Dawn Age}} The children lived throughout Westeros, from the [[Summer Sea]] to the [[Land of Always Winter]].{{ref|TWOIAF| Ancient History: The Dawn Age}} They called [[Dorne]] the "Empty Land",{{ref|TWOIAF| Dorne}} however, and maesters doubt that the children lived on the [[Iron Islands]].{{ref|TWOIAF| The Iron Islands}}

===First Men===

===First Men===

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The children initially welcomed the newcomers, but they disliked the First Men's harvesting of trees from forests, such as the [[rainwood]].{{ref|TWOIAF| The Stormlands: The Coming of the First Men}} Fearing that the children used [[heart tree]]s for spying, the First Men burned and cut down the great [[weirwood]]s as they came, leading to [[War of the First Men and the children of the forest|war]] between the two races.{{ref|TWOIAF| Ancient History: The Dawn Age}}

The children initially welcomed the newcomers, but they disliked the First Men's harvesting of trees from forests, such as the [[rainwood]].{{ref|TWOIAF| The Stormlands: The Coming of the First Men}} Fearing that the children used [[heart tree]]s for spying, the First Men burned and cut down the great [[weirwood]]s as they came, leading to [[War of the First Men and the children of the forest|war]] between the two races.{{ref|TWOIAF| Ancient History: The Dawn Age}}

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For thousands of years the two races fought a desperate war for dominance.{{ref|TWOIAF| The Stormlands: The Coming of the First Men}} The legendary [[Brandon of the Bloody Blade]] slew numerous children at [[Red Lake]].{{ref|TWOIAF| The Reach: Garth Greenhand}} In a futile attempt to end the invasion, the children used the [[hammer of the waters]] to shatter the Arm of Dorne, creating the [[Broken Arm]] and the [[Stepstones]].{{ref|TWOIAF| Dorne: The Breaking}} The histories say that some of the First Men, the [[crannogmen]], grew close to the children of the forest in the days when the [[greenseer]]s at the [[Children's Tower]] of [[Moat Cailin]]{{ref|AGOT|55}}{{ref|ADWD|20}} tried to bring the hammer of the waters down upon the [[Neck]].{{Ref|acok|50|p 733}}

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For thousands of years the two races fought a desperate war for dominance.{{ref|TWOIAF| The Stormlands: The Coming of the First Men}} The legendary [[Brandon of the Bloody Blade]] slew numerous children at [[Red Lake]].{{ref|TWOIAF| The Reach: Garth Greenhand}} In a futile attempt to end the invasion, the children used the [[hammer of the waters]] to shatter the Arm of Dorne with the [[Breaking]], creating the [[Broken Arm]] and the [[Stepstones]].{{ref|TWOIAF| Dorne: The Breaking}} The histories say that some of the First Men, the [[crannogmen]], grew close to the children of the forest in the days when the [[greenseer]]s at the [[Children's Tower]] of [[Moat Cailin]]{{ref|AGOT|55}}{{ref|ADWD|20}} tried to bring the hammer of the waters down upon the [[Neck]].{{Ref|acok|50}}

Eventually the First Men and the children fought to a standstill. The two races agreed to peaceful coexistence and signed the [[Pact]] on the [[Isle of Faces]], granting the open lands to humanity and the forests to the children, who had been greatly diminished. The children taught worship of the [[old gods]] to the First Men.{{ref|TWOIAF| The Stormlands: The Coming of the First Men}}

Eventually the First Men and the children fought to a standstill. The two races agreed to peaceful coexistence and signed the [[Pact]] on the [[Isle of Faces]], granting the open lands to humanity and the forests to the children, who had been greatly diminished. The children taught worship of the [[old gods]] to the First Men.{{ref|TWOIAF| The Stormlands: The Coming of the First Men}}

===Age of Heroes===

===Age of Heroes===

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[[File:Children of the Forest greenseers.jpg|thumb|350px|A [[greenseer]] singing the song of earth.]]

The [[Age of Heroes]] followed the Pact between the children and the First Men, four thousand years of relative peace between the races.{{ref|AGOT|66}} Eventually the enigmatic [[Others]] invaded from the uttermost north, bringing death and destruction to children and First Men, during an extended period of winter known as the [[Long Night]]. The children joined with the First Men, led by the [[last hero]], to fight against the Others in the [[Battle for the Dawn]]. Eventually the Others were driven back into the [[Lands of Always Winter]].{{ref|TWOIAF| Ancient History: The Long Night}} [[Brandon Stark (Builder)|Bran the Builder]], the legendary founder of [[House Stark]], is said to have enlisted the [[magic]]al aid of the children during the construction of the [[Wall]].{{ref|TWOIAF| Ancient History: The Dawn Age}}{{ref|TWOIAF| The Wall and Beyond: The Night's Watch}}

The [[Age of Heroes]] followed the Pact between the children and the First Men, four thousand years of relative peace between the races.{{ref|AGOT|66}} Eventually the enigmatic [[Others]] invaded from the uttermost north, bringing death and destruction to children and First Men, during an extended period of winter known as the [[Long Night]]. The children joined with the First Men, led by the [[last hero]], to fight against the Others in the [[Battle for the Dawn]]. Eventually the Others were driven back into the [[Lands of Always Winter]].{{ref|TWOIAF| Ancient History: The Long Night}} [[Brandon Stark (Builder)|Bran the Builder]], the legendary founder of [[House Stark]], is said to have enlisted the [[magic]]al aid of the children during the construction of the [[Wall]].{{ref|TWOIAF| Ancient History: The Dawn Age}}{{ref|TWOIAF| The Wall and Beyond: The Night's Watch}}

The children again warred with humans when the [[Andals]] began migrating from [[Andalos]] across the [[narrow sea]] to Westeros. Zealous in the [[Faith of the Seven]] and armed with steel, having learned of ironworking from the [[Rhoynar]],{{ref|ADWD|5}} the Andals resumed the cutting down and burning of [[weirwood]]s.{{ref|TWOIAF| The Riverlands}}

The children again warred with humans when the [[Andals]] began migrating from [[Andalos]] across the [[narrow sea]] to Westeros. Zealous in the [[Faith of the Seven]] and armed with steel, having learned of ironworking from the [[Rhoynar]],{{ref|ADWD|5}} the Andals resumed the cutting down and burning of [[weirwood]]s.{{ref|TWOIAF| The Riverlands}}

[[Coldhands]] leads Bran, [[Hodor]], and [[Meera Reed|Meera]] and [[Jojen Reed]] north of the [[Wall]] to the [[cave of the three-eyed crow]], whom Coldhands calls the [[three-eyed crow|last greenseer]].{{ref|ADWD|4}} They are attacked by [[wight]]s at the entrance, a cleft in the hillside, but they survive with the assistance of one of the children, a being who appears to be a girl child and can speak the [[Common Tongue]].{{ref|ADWD|13}}

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[[Coldhands]] leads Bran, [[Hodor]], and [[Meera Reed|Meera]] and [[Jojen Reed]] north of the [[Wall]] to the [[cave of the three-eyed crow]], whom Coldhands calls the [[three-eyed crow|last greenseer]].{{ref|ADWD|4}} They are attacked by [[wight]]s at the entrance, a cleft in the hillside, but they survive with the assistance of one of the children, a being who first appears to be a girl child and can speak the [[Common Tongue]].{{ref|ADWD|13}}

Bran and his companions discover a dwindling remnant of children live in the warded cavern. The caves are home to more than three score living singers and the bones of thousands dead, and extend far below the hollow hill. Bran and Meera give names to the children, since they cannot speak the [[True Tongue]]. Bran hears them sing sad songs in the True Tongue which he cannot understand, but their voices are as pure as the winter air. [[Leaf]], who saved the humans from the wights, explains that the children have not explored all of the caves, even though they have lived there for a thousand thousand man-years. {{Ref|aDwD|34}}

Bran and his companions discover a dwindling remnant of children live in the warded cavern. The caves are home to more than three score living singers and the bones of thousands dead, and extend far below the hollow hill. Bran and Meera give names to the children, since they cannot speak the [[True Tongue]]. Bran hears them sing sad songs in the True Tongue which he cannot understand, but their voices are as pure as the winter air. [[Leaf]], who saved the humans from the wights, explains that the children have not explored all of the caves, even though they have lived there for a thousand thousand man-years. {{Ref|aDwD|34}}

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==Quotes==

==Quotes==

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{{Quote|Bran, the children of the forest have been dead and gone for thousands of years. All that is left of them are the [[Heart tree|faces in the trees]].{{ref|AGOT|24}}}} – [[Luwin]], to [[Bran Stark]]

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{{Quote|Bran, the children of the forest have been dead and gone for thousands of years. All that is left of them are the [[Heart tree|faces in the trees]].{{ref|AGOT|24}}|[[Luwin]], to [[Bran Stark]]}}

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{{Quote|They were a people of the [[Dawn Age]], the very first, before kings and kingdoms. In those days, there were no castles or holdfasts, no cities, not so much as a market town to be found between here and the [[sea of Dorne]]. There were no men at all. Only the children of the forest dwelt in the lands we now call the [[Seven Kingdoms]].{{Ref|aGoT|66}}|[[Luwin]], to [[Bran Stark]]}}

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{{Quote|They were a people of the [[Dawn Age]], the very first, before kings and kingdoms. In those days, there were no castles or holdfasts, no cities, not so much as a market town to be found between here and the [[sea of Dorne]]. There were no men at all. Only the children of the forest dwelt in the lands we now call the [[Seven Kingdoms]].{{Ref|aGoT|66|p 737}}}} – [[Luwin]], to [[Bran Stark]]

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{{Quote|[[Beyond the Wall|North of the Wall]], things are different. That's where the children went, and the [[giants]], and the other old races.{{ref|AGOT|66}}|[[Osha]], to [[Bran Stark]]}}

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{{Quote|The children are gone from this world, and their wisdom with them.{{ref|ACOK|28}}|[[Luwin]], to [[Bran Stark]]}}

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{{Quote|[[Beyond the Wall|North of the Wall]], things are different. That's where the children went, and the [[giants]], and the other old races.{{ref|AGOT|66|p 736}}}} - [[Osha]], to [[Bran Stark]]

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{{quote|We remember the [[First Men]] in the [[Neck]], and the children of the forest who were their friends ... but so much is forgotten, and so much we never knew.{{ref|ASOS|9}}|[[Jojen Reed]], to [[Bran Stark]]}}

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{{Quote|The children of the forest are all dead. The [[First Men]] killed half of them with bronze blades, and the [[Andals]] finished the job with iron.{{Ref|ASOS|33}}|[[Jeor Mormont]], to [[Samwell Tarly]]}}

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{{Quote|The children are gone from this world, and their wisdom with them.{{ref|ACOK|28}}}} – [[Luwin]], to [[Bran Stark]]

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{{Quote|Though the men of the [[Seven Kingdoms]] might call them the children of the forest, [[Leaf]] and her people were far from childlike. Little wise men of the forest would have been closer.{{Ref|aDwD|34}}|[[Bran Stark]]'s thoughts}}

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{{quote|We remember the [[First Men]] in the [[Neck]], and the children of the forest who were their friends ... but so much is forgotten, and so much we never knew.{{ref|ASOS|9}}}} - [[Jojen Reed]], to [[Bran Stark]]

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{{Quote|The children of the forest are all dead. The [[First Men]] killed half of them with bronze blades, and the [[Andals]] finished the job with iron.{{Ref|ASOS|33|p 373}}}} - [[Jeor Mormont]], to [[Samwell Tarly]]

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{{Quote|Though the men of the [[Seven Kingdoms]] might call them the children of the forest, [[Leaf]] and her people were far from childlike. Little wise men of the forest would have been closer.{{Ref|aDwD|34}}}} - [[Bran Stark]]'s thoughts

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{{Quote|'''Bran''': Where are the rest of you?<br>

{{Quote|'''Bran''': Where are the rest of you?<br>

'''Leaf''': Gone down into the earth … Into the stones, into the trees. Before the [[First Men]] came all this land that you call [[Westeros]] was home to us, yet even in those days we were few. [[old gods|The gods]] gave us long lives but not great numbers, lest we overrun the world as deer will overrun a wood where there are no wolves to hunt them. That was in the [[Dawn Age|dawn of days]], when our sun was rising. Now it sinks, and this is our long dwindling. The [[giants]] are almost gone as well, they who were our bane and our brothers. The great [[lion]]s of the [[westerlands|western hills]] have been slain, the [[unicorns]] are all but gone, the [[mammoth]]s down to a few hundred. The [[direwolf|direwolves]] will outlast us all, but their time will come as well. In the world that men have made, there is no room for them, or us.{{Ref|aDwD|34}}}}

'''Leaf''': Gone down into the earth … Into the stones, into the trees. Before the [[First Men]] came all this land that you call [[Westeros]] was home to us, yet even in those days we were few. [[old gods|The gods]] gave us long lives but not great numbers, lest we overrun the world as deer will overrun a wood where there are no wolves to hunt them. That was in the [[Dawn Age|dawn of days]], when our sun was rising. Now it sinks, and this is our long dwindling. The [[giants]] are almost gone as well, they who were our bane and our brothers. The great [[lion]]s of the [[westerlands|western hills]] have been slain, the [[unicorns]] are all but gone, the [[mammoth]]s down to a few hundred. The [[direwolf|direwolves]] will outlast us all, but their time will come as well. In the world that men have made, there is no room for them, or us.{{Ref|aDwD|34}}}}

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{{quote|Men would not be sad. Men would be wroth. Men would hate and swear a bloody vengeance. The singers sings sad songs, where men would fight and kill.{{Ref|aDwD|34}}|[[Bran Stark]]'s thoughts}}

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{{quote|Men would not be sad. Men would be wroth. Men would hate and swear a bloody vengeance. The singers sings sad songs, where men would fight and kill.{{Ref|aDwD|34}}}} - [[Bran Stark]]'s thoughts

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==References==

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{{References|2}}

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==References and Notes==

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{{References|3}}

{{Creatures}}

{{Creatures}}

Latest revision as of 18:48, 27 May 2019

The children of the forest, sometimes referred to simply as the children, are a mysterious non-human race that originally inhabited the continent of Westeros during the Dawn Age long before the arrival of the First Men thousands of years ago. The giants call them woh dak nag gram (little squirrel people). They call themselves those who sing the song of earth in the True Tongue.[1] The children have not been seen by men for hundreds of years.[2]

Characteristics

The children are smaller than humans, but they are not childlike. They have nut-brown skin, dappled like a deer's with paler spots. Their hands have only three fingers and a thumb, with sharp black claws instead of nails. They have large ears that can hear things that no man can hear.[3] They usually have large gold and green eyes slitted like those of a cat,[1] allowing them to see in dark passages.[3]

The children are slight, quick, and graceful. They weave leaves and vines and flowers into their hair, and wear cloaks of leaves. They may live for centuries.[1] They often sing in their language, the True Tongue.[3]

Very rarely, one of the children is born with mossy green or blood red eyes, a sign that they have been chosen by the Old Gods. The chosen ones are not robust, and do not live long on the earth, but they have the gift of greensight and are known as greenseers. Once they are bound to a weirwood, they live far longer than other children.[3]

Culture

The children may have lived in clans.[4] They did not use metal, weave cloth, or build cities. The children lived off the land, using stone and obsidian implements, wearing bark leg-bindings and shirts of woven leaves, dwelling in caves, crannogs, and hidden tree villages. Males and females both hunted side by side[5] as wood dancers,[6] using obsidian weapons, weirwood bows, and flying snares made with grasses.[4] The children had no books, no ink, no parchment and no written language.[3] They were a people with a deep connection to the land.[5] The children used their weirwood hunting bows and obsidian weapons in battle, but also used powerful magic.[4]

Legends say the children of the forest were gifted with supernatural powers. These included having power over the beasts of the wood, the ability to wear an animal's skin, the skill to create music so beautiful as to bring tears to the eyes of any who heard it, the greensight ability and the ability to speak to the dead.[7] It was the children who carved faces on weirwoods to keep watch over the woods.[8] The children of the forest believed that the weirwood trees were gods, and when they died they became a part of them.[3] Septon Barth believed that the children could communicate from afar with ravens.[4]

History

Dawn Age

It is unknown where the children of the forest came from, nor for how long they were in their land before humans arrived. For thousands of years during the Dawn Age the children and the giants shared the landmass that later became known as Westeros.[4] The two races are believed to have sometimes fought, since Maester Kennet found a giant's barrow near Long Lake with obsidian arrowheads in the ribs.[4] The children lived throughout Westeros, from the Summer Sea to the Land of Always Winter.[4] They called Dorne the "Empty Land",[11] however, and maesters doubt that the children lived on the Iron Islands.[12]

First Men

Eventually between eight thousand and twelve thousand years ago,[6] the children came in contact with the First Men, the first outsiders. Legends of the Reach claim they were led by Garth Greenhand.[13] Crossing the Arm of Dorne, the land-bridge connecting Westeros and Essos, these invaders built permanent settlements and brought with them bronze weapons, great leathern shields, the first horses, and their own gods.[5]

The children initially welcomed the newcomers, but they disliked the First Men's harvesting of trees from forests, such as the rainwood.[14] Fearing that the children used heart trees for spying, the First Men burned and cut down the great weirwoods as they came, leading to war between the two races.[4]

Eventually the First Men and the children fought to a standstill. The two races agreed to peaceful coexistence and signed the Pact on the Isle of Faces, granting the open lands to humanity and the forests to the children, who had been greatly diminished. The children taught worship of the old gods to the First Men.[14]

Age of Heroes

The Age of Heroes followed the Pact between the children and the First Men, four thousand years of relative peace between the races.[5] Eventually the enigmatic Others invaded from the uttermost north, bringing death and destruction to children and First Men, during an extended period of winter known as the Long Night. The children joined with the First Men, led by the last hero, to fight against the Others in the Battle for the Dawn. Eventually the Others were driven back into the Lands of Always Winter.[2]Bran the Builder, the legendary founder of House Stark, is said to have enlisted the magical aid of the children during the construction of the Wall.[4][19]

The children began their slow withdrawal from the lands of men, retreating deeper into their forests and beyond the Wall. It was recorded by the Night's Watch that the children of the forest gave the black brothers a hundred obsidian daggers every year during the Age of Heroes.[20] The free folk believe that Gendel and Gorne once mediated between rival children and giants.[4]

A hill, now known to the Westerosi as High Heart, was sacred to the children of the forest. There the Andal king Erreg the Kinslayer cut down the children's grove of thirty-one weirwoods. High Heart is said to be haunted by the ghosts of the children who died there, where the children's magic is said to still linger.[29]True History states that the children had already abandoned the riverlands before the arrival of the Andals, however.[26]

Relations between the children and humans grew distant over the years, until they ceased altogether. Maesters largely believe the children have been gone for hundreds[2] or thousands[32] of years, but the free folk believe they still live beyond the Wall.[5] Some scholars have suggested that children may have survived at the Isle of Faces or in the bogs of the Neck.[30] Some also theorize that the crannogmen of the Neck intermarried with the children.[33]

Bran and his companions discover a dwindling remnant of children live in the warded cavern. The caves are home to more than three score living singers and the bones of thousands dead, and extend far below the hollow hill. Bran and Meera give names to the children, since they cannot speak the True Tongue. Bran hears them sing sad songs in the True Tongue which he cannot understand, but their voices are as pure as the winter air. Leaf, who saved the humans from the wights, explains that the children have not explored all of the caves, even though they have lived there for a thousand thousand man-years. [3]

Quotes

They were a people of the Dawn Age, the very first, before kings and kingdoms. In those days, there were no castles or holdfasts, no cities, not so much as a market town to be found between here and the sea of Dorne. There were no men at all. Only the children of the forest dwelt in the lands we now call the Seven Kingdoms.[5]

Bran: Where are the rest of you?Leaf: Gone down into the earth … Into the stones, into the trees. Before the First Men came all this land that you call Westeros was home to us, yet even in those days we were few. The gods gave us long lives but not great numbers, lest we overrun the world as deer will overrun a wood where there are no wolves to hunt them. That was in the dawn of days, when our sun was rising. Now it sinks, and this is our long dwindling. The giants are almost gone as well, they who were our bane and our brothers. The great lions of the western hills have been slain, the unicorns are all but gone, the mammoths down to a few hundred. The direwolves will outlast us all, but their time will come as well. In the world that men have made, there is no room for them, or us.[3]

Men would not be sad. Men would be wroth. Men would hate and swear a bloody vengeance. The singers sings sad songs, where men would fight and kill.[3]